A work in Progress

As I journey through life, I cannot help but constantly be reminded of the fact that I am on a pilgrimage. Everything around me seems to propel me forward toward the final end which is Communion with God. Every encounter, every charitable act, every prayer, every noticed breath is for God to do with whatever He wishes. I question the wisdom of Seneca when he said that "It is not that we have so little time, but that we have wasted so much of it." When I read this quote I am forced to ask if everything I do, that is not sin, is ordered toward God, then can it really be a waste of time?

Maybe what Seneca means is that we are spending too much time in sin and thus are wasting a lot of our life by not choosing to follow God with our whole heart, mind, and soul. I'd like to think the contrary and follow those who have said ages ago that we as human beings are ordered to the good and through the Grace of God choose the good over the evil. But being realistic, I'm keenly aware of my broken nature and after a brief reflection on my own life, the wisdom that Senica speaks suddenly becomes more wise then I had originally expected.

As I reflect on today's readings, I couldn't help be be moved to reflect on the precious gift of time. The urgency with which we should be working towards holiness should be a priority above all other priorities.

Let us pray today that our own lives may be a constant reminder that we know not the hour and we must fervently work each day with joy in our hearts and a humility that opens us up to the Grace God continually pours forth into the world.

Ministry of Acolyte

Last weekend four of my brother seminarians received the Ministery of Acolyte from Archbishop Jerome Listecki. It was a very joyful occasion to know that four of my brothers are continuing on in the process of formation to share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The acolyte has things to do at the liturgy, assisting the priest and deacon: "it is his duty therefore to attend to the service of the altar and to assist the deacon and the priest in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of Mass". He needs to ensure that everything has been properly prepared, helps the deacon to prepare the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. and may assist in the distribution of Holy Communion when there are not enough priests and deacons.

The acolyte also has things to do in the community and all of them flow from his service of the Eucharist. So he may take communion to the sick and housebound, he is an appropriate person to prepare altar servers and others who assist in the liturgies, not just showing them what to do but helping them to understand the significance of what they are doing. He may also, in the absence of a priest or deacon, expose the Blessed Sacrament for adoration.

The Church encourages acolytes to deepen their devotion to the Eucharist and to acquire an ever more profound understanding of it. The acolyte is to be 'in the temple an example to all by his serious and respectful comportment'. His service of the sacramental Body and Blood of Christ ought to stimulate in him 'a sincere love for the mystical body of Christ, or the people of God, especially the weak and the sick'.

For seminarians, being instituted as an acolyte is a step towards ordination (God willing). It enables them to take a more active role in the sacramental and pastoral service of the community.

St. Charles Borromeo

As we celebrate the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, let us pray for catechists and seminarians, both of whom have been entrusted to St. Charles Borromeo's patronage.

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy, on 2 October 1538. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Milan (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of Protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of 3-4 November 1584, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times.